Love, Simple yet Complicated
by x-ceci-x
Summary: The trio come back to Hogwarts changed and everyone wants them. As Harry changes not only in looks but also personality, will he ever give up the new player attitude he's aquired?


A/N: Don't forget to review after reading. Criticsm is appreciated and contributions and ideas are very much needed. This is a short chapter but it's just a taste of the future. Also i'm planning to change the reading from PG-13 to R when the time comes. I'll try to make it a skippable type thing though k? =)  
  
  
  
now on with the story..   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
+Love, Simple yet Complicated+  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Blue. Red. Blue. Red. Blue. Harry lay in his bed watching as his ceiling flashed with these two colors. So Dudley had finally been caught, along with the rest of his gang, vandalizing and terrorizing the neighborhood. If this had happened a year ago, Harry wouldn't have minded, hell he would have been ecstatic.   
  
"Dudley is just a baby!!! He didn't know what he was doing! He's innocent! It's his nasty little friends that have corrupted him." Harry cringed as Aunt Petunia wailed at the top of her lungs.   
  
He could almost imagine the scene. Sooner or later Uncle Vernon will stop talking calmly and start shouting; his face bright magenta. Aunt Petunia would be pale, her lower lip trembling as she clings to Dudley, and his cousin just standing there not sure whether to persuade his parents that he was innocent or to just admit to guilt. And the poor policeman standing there trying hard to convince Dudley's devoted yet blind-to-the-truth parents.   
  
Harry shrugged to himself as he turned onto his side. Losing Sirius wasn't easy, now he had no one to turn to. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to turn to anyone, he had problems getting to close to anyone. Harry had even ignored a couple of his friends letters only responding to certain ones. His greatest fear was the fear of being alone. Voldemort was going to kill everyone and take everything that made Harry happy. Shaking the depressing thoughts out of his head, he slowly got up and made his way to the mirror. The fading sun dimly lit the room, but he could still make out his reflection.   
  
The boy staring back at him wasn't the same one that he had seen the day he got back to Privet Drive for summer vacation. Harry had shot up a couple extra inches and he was along the lines of 6' - 6'1. He had also developed a well-chiseled body along with a perfect tan that just made him look good. Although he couldn't tame his hair he decided he might as well work with the messiness and gelled it so that it stuck out in messy black locks and even he had to admit it looked good.   
  
Dressed in a slightly loose white T-shirt and clean blue jeans, he didn't look much like a delinquent anymore, besides the grave look he always wore since it was hard for him to smile at anything nowadays. He no longer wore his cousin's ugly old smelly clothes but he got new things that fit him and that also fit his taste. The money for the clothes came from a summer job working at the nearest super market. He also got extra money by helping Mrs. Figg with chores and moving heavy objects. He stored the money, that he had earned, in the loose floor-board amd he was planning to add it to his Gringotts account. Every penny counted to him, especially since he was going to move out of Privet Drive after Hogwarts, so he needed a head start.  
  
As he stared into his own vivid green eyes, he realized how much a month could change him, or maybe he was just growing up.   
  
Harry didn't feel like staying in his room any longer; and he was growing quite restless. It wasn't like his uncle ordered him to be confined to his room, it was rather that he just wanted to finish his summer homework and fell asleep (before being rudely woken up by the racket over Dudley downstairs).  
  
Harry felt like he owed something to his cousin; after all, they had actually bonded a bit over the month. They had gotten into a fight the first week Harry had gotten back, he could remember how they had yelled at each other over what had happened the summer before. Exhausted, they somehow took to a mutual truce. After that they worked together to grow stronger. Dudley needed practice with his boxing while Harry needed training for quidditch; especially since Angelina had graduated and the spot for captain of the Gryffindor team was available.   
  
Harry and Dudley had practice fights and, sometimes, real ones when their tempers got the better of them. Sometimes they'd have a contest of durability. Whoever could outrun the other at a steady pace around the block, side by side (without falling behind), would be treated by the loser to ice cream.  
  
As well as fighting with his cousin, he constantly excercised and worked out training his body for quidditch. Harry was still thin yet he had muscles and a better developed body. He was definitely ready for the new season and now he had his new strength as well as agility and it wouldn't be easy for ANYTHING to knock him off his broom.   
  
He slowly walked towards his door and with stealth he stole carefully down the stairs.  
  
"Now look 'ere sir. Your son 'as been caught in tha act. Either you pay for tha damage done or 'e's off ta jail." The policeman's voice may have been calm, but Harry could tell that the man was scared of his uncle.  
  
"HE WILL NOT GO TO JAIL! HE IS INNOCENT!" Uncle Vernon's calm was completely gone now. He was an indescribable shade of red mixed with pale white. Harry could tell that this was the worst he's every seen his uncle.   
  
By now the policeman was shaking from his knobbly black shoes to the top of his navy blue hat. "B-but s-s-sir 'e w-was caught.. red 'anded sir."   
  
"You will leave my house. You will not come near my son." The calmly cold tone of Uncle Vernon was like the calm of the ocean before a horrible storm. At this point the policeman seemed like he could take it no longer and ran full speed out of number four Privet Drive never to be seen again.   
  
Harry calmly made his way down the remaining stairs just as his uncle turned around.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he growled out.   
  
"Because I want to be here." With that Harry walked to the kitchen for a cup of water.  
  
Uncle Vernon was scared of Harry more than he had ever been, especially with the everlasting threat of the group of freaks at King's Cross. In the kitchen he saw Dudley alone at the table.   
  
"Hey." Harry said as he walked in. "Hey." Replied Dudleys without even looking up from the table.  
  
"Harry, have you ever felt that your life was pointless and all the fun things you used to do are now... stupid?" As Dudley continued to stare down at the table Harry had stopped mid-air reaching for a glass. "I'm not sure."   
  
"You know, now that I've been caught doing childish pranks, I don't think any of it was worth it anymore. It was useless fun." Dudley looked up from the table and stared straight into Harry's eyes. "I'm sorry for making your life hell. I think I was jealous of you." Harry felt completely shocked, and just stared back at Dudley. "I know it doesn't seem much right now, but I really am sorry."  
  
"Er... It's okay... I guess." He turned to walk out of the kitchen forgetting his glass of water and sprinted up the stairs. He made his way to his dark room where he softly closed the door and sat on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands and his elbows resting on his knees. Harry had never known Dudley to feel sorry for anything except for not being able to eat everything he could. The wheels in his head were turning and turning and just as he was about to plop backwards on to his bed, there was a tap-tap at his window. Looking up from his position he saw a fluffy tennis ball with a piece of parchment in it beak.   
  
Harry got up and made his way to the window to let Pig in with Ron's new letter.   
  
Hey Harry,  
  
You've been quiet lately and I hope you're okay. Mum's been worried about you even more than usual. Although I want to invite you to the burrow Dumbledore reckons you're safer away from the wizarding world for the summer. At first we were a bit down about it and asked if we could all go to where we went last summer but we weren't allowed to do that either and well we didn't know you would.. emotionally prepared for it. Anyways we got another idea and this one has been approved by Dumbledore.   
  
See you soon,   
  
Ron  
  
"Well that was very er... enlightening." Harry mused out loud especially since he had no idea what Ron was talking about anyway. Hoping that whatever it was, was going to happen soon like Ron said, he laid down on his bed and not bothering to change, he fell asleep.  
  
  
  
The next day Harry woke to a loud high pitched shriek. Harry's first instinct was to grab his wand. He ran silently out of his room towards the stairs. With his glasses askew, hair a big mess, shirt crinkled and stained he was the epitome of Aunt Petunia's mind's very description of a nightmare. His bigtoe barely touched the bottom step when..  
  
BANG!!  
  
Reviews please. 


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